Because we finished our saving and fundraising for the adoption over a year and a half ago, I didn't want to have to come back and say, hey we're short some funds. No, we didn't do anything crazy with the funds like adding an addition on to our house -- our donated funds are managed by a third party, Lifesong for Orphans. Part of the deficit that we have is in a very small part because I was a little more modest on projected travel expenses for the two 7-day trips to Ethiopia (travel and in-country expenses). The other really BIG HITS we took in our adoption fund is that the process took much longer than anyone would have ever expected. What should have been a 12-18 month journey, turned into a 3 1/2 year journey to complete and she's still not quite home yet. The longer things take to complete, the more money we've had to spend for document renewals which is by no stretch of the imagination cheap. In fact, we're scheduled to go back to Baltimore in two weeks to do another set of Biometric fingerprinting through the Department of Homeland Security (I mean did my fingerprints change in the last year....go figure!) BTW: I'm very thankful for the extended wait now because when we received our referral, she's a perfect fit for our family. I couldn't imagine any other child, in large part, my own childhood and adult journey has prepared me for some of what she may go through
I've been so afraid of what I THINK other 'people' would think, it's paralyzed me. Just when I thought I had enough money set aside to take care of our deficit, the engine in our truck died. There was no repairing. We were told we'd have to completely replace. Given that we're soooo close to paying it off, I didn't want to buy a new vehicle, especially since we're cutting costs at home to manage the day-to-day expenses associated with a new child. So finally, I realized, okay God, this is still not about me (you'd thought I would have that particular memo memorized by now!) The awesome thing that happens with fundraising is that it brings more people into the journey and also exposes more people to the problem at hand.
So my friends....I need YOUR help! Whether you're a first-time donor or returning donor, please know that EVERY SINGLE BIT helps us to reach the finish line until little Miss Selah is finally upstairs in her crib being loved on by her family. The years have been excruciatingly long but God has done some incredible things in that time lapse. Please consider donating and/or spreading the word. I believe we can do this but I'll be honest...I need your help! Thanks for being a part of the journey!
Much love!
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